is located in the
Chūbu Region on
Honshū Island ,
Japan . The capital is the city of
Fukui .
Fukui originally consisted of the
Old Provinces of
Wakasa and
Echizen , before the prefecture was formed in
1871 .
During the
Edo Period , the
Daimyō of the region was surnamed
Matsudaira , and was a descendant of
Tokugawa Ieyasu .
The province faces the
Sea Of Japan , and has a western part (former Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part (former Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population.
9 cities are located on Fukui Prefecture.
These are the towns and villages in each
District .
(as of March 20, 2006)
- Fukui Prefecture is home to Maruoka-jō , the oldest castle still standing in Japan. It was built in 1572.
- Eiheiji is a serene temple offering training and education to Buddhist monks. Founded by Dogen Zenji in 1244, Eiheiji is located on a plot of land of about 330,000 m2.
- Many dinosaur fossils have been excavated in Fukui and they can been seen at the Fukui Dinosaur Museum .
- Residents of Fukui Prefecture have a distinctive accent, Fukui-ben .
- Visitors to Fukui can enjoy eating ''echizen-gani'' crabs. By the local residents, male crabs are called ''zuwai'' and female ones are called ''seiko''.
Though not particularly famous for anything, Fukui boasts plenty for the outdoor enthusiast. There are several nice beaches in the south of the prefecture, and the Okuetsu region (Ōno and Kastuyama) has a number of small ski areas dotted around, some of which are open till 10pm at night - perfect for after work sessions.
There are also several nice lakes in the prefecture, both in the south and north, the most notable of which are Kuzuryu in Ōno, and the Mikata 5 lakes, and there is a lovely swimming hole in the Kuzuryu river. Click here for more detailed pictures and reports on the outdoor life in
Fukui
